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Unit 1: Timelines
Skill Interpreting and constructing
timelines
Studying the ancient past requires an understanding of
when important events occurred and the order in which
they happened.Timelines are a common method of
presenting this information. A timeline is a diagram that
shows dates and events in chronological order (i.e. from
earliest to most recent) at measured intervals along a line.
A timeline of ancient history shows dates and events in
relation to the birth of Christ. Any event which is shown
before this point on the timeline occurred before the birth
of Christ (i.e. ‘BC’). Any event shown after this point,
occurred after the birth of Christ (i.e. ‘AD’).Timelines are
an important summary tool.They can be used to show
events in someone’s life as well as the historical
development of a country or civilisation.
Source B Timeline of ancient history
5000BC
Sumerian cities established in
Mesopotamia
3000BC
2500BC
Menes unites Upper and Lower Egypt.
Minoan civilisation established on Crete
Great Pyramids built at Giza in Egypt
2350BC
Sargon founds Akkadian Empire
2200BC
1925BC
Minoan civilisation flourishes. Akkadian
Empire destroyed
Hittites conquer Babylon
1674BC
1650BC
Hyksos invade Egypt
Hittite Empire established
1580BC
Hyksos driven out of Egypt. Mycenaean
civilisation established on mainland
Greece
1250BC
1200BC
Disappearance of Minoan civilisation
Phoenician Empire established.
Destruction of Troy
Collapse of Mycenaean civilisation
Assyrian Empire established
Source A Timeline of world history
9000BC
1120BC
1100BC
8000BC
Prehistoric
times
900BC
850BC
776BC
753BC
721BC
Etruscans settle in Italy
Phoenicians found Carthage
First Olympic Games in Greece
Traditional date for the founding of Rome
Assyrians conquer Israel
689BC
625BC
Assyrians destroy Babylon
Collapse of Assyrian Empire
550BC
529BC
510BC
490BC
480BC
Persian Empire established
Persians conquer Egypt
Roman Republic founded
Persia invades Greece
Second Persian invasion of Greece
431BC
404BC
Peloponnesian War begins in Greece
End of Peloponnesian War
264BC
First Punic War between Rome and
Carthage
218BC
216BC
Second Punic War
Hannibal crosses the Alps
✝
149BC
Third Punic War
476AD
31BC
30BC
7000BC
6000BC
5000BC
4000BC
Ancient
times
3000BC
2000BC
1000BC
Middle
Ages
1000AD
2000AD
Modern
times
✝
Battle of Actium. Roman Empire founded
Cleopatra dies. Egypt becomes a Roman
province
Birth of Christ
98AD
122AD
Roman Empire at its height
Hadrian's Wall built
395AD
Roman Empire split into Western and
Eastern Empires
Goths attack Rome
410AD
3000AD
476 AD
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Fall of the Roman Empire
Ancient History Skills: Preliminary Course TRB © Nelson ITP 1997. May be photocopied within the purchasing institution for individual student use.
Bh0030 Main
04/05/2001 3:26 PM
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Source C The life of Arthur Evans
Comprehension skills
Arthur Evans was born in 1851 and studied at Oxford. At the
age of 31, he became Keeper of the Ashmolean Museum. He had
a passion for archaeology, especially prehistoric scripts. He studied
sealstones found at Mycenae and started collecting them. He
found some, similar to the Mycenaean ones, in an Athens antique
shop and was informed that they were of Cretan provenance, so
in 1894 he went to Crete, where he collected several more. He
published his study of these objects in Cretan Pictographs and
Pre-Phoenician Scripts in 1895. Evans’ travels in Crete
awakened his general interest in the antiquities on the island. He
visited the hill of Kephala at Knossos, which was still virtually
intact. Evans began negotiating to buy the site from its owners
but the political situation on the island was not favourable.When
Crete was declared an autonomous state in 1898, the situation
changed. An archaeological law was drafted for the first time and
the necessary preconditions for the excavation of Knossos were
established.The purchase of the archaeological site was completed
and on 23 March, 1900, the new systematic excavations at
Knossos commenced, financed mainly by Evans himself.
At the start of the excavations there were thirty workers, but
their number soon rose to over a hundred and the work proceeded
at a very rapid pace.After only five days Evans had enough
evidence at his disposal to realise that the large building which
was coming to light belonged to a civilisation older than the
Mycenaean. On the seventh day he found a clay tablet. On 13
April the throne of Minos was discovered. On 15 April Evans
unearthed a large number of clay tablets inscribed with the
prehistoric script of the Cretans. His interest in the script was
being rewarded and, at the same time, the whole civilisation to
which it belonged was being revealed. By the close of the first year
(1900) the whole of the West Wing had been excavated and in
the following year he began digging the East Wing.Within two
years the Throne Room, the Central Court, the Grand Staircase,
the Magazines and the Domestic Quarters had been revealed. By
the end of the third season of excavation (late 1902) almost all of
the palace had been uncovered.
Excavation stopped at the begining of World War I (1914)
and was not resumed until 1922. It then continued for a further
ten years until 1932. Evans published his discoveries between
1920 and 1935 in his four-volume work The Palace of
Minos at Knossos. In 1935 he was present at the unveiling of
his bust in bronze, which was erected at the entrance to the site of
Knossos. He died in 1941, aged 90, at Youlbury in England,
having dedicated fifty long years to research into the Minoan
civilisation.
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a
b
c
d
e
Read the introduction and answer the following questions.
What is a timeline?
How are dates and events arranged on a timeline?
Where will events occurring in the BC period be found on
a timeline?
Where will events occurring in the AD period be found on
a timeline?
How are timelines used in Ancient History?
Interpretation skills
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a
b
c
d
e
Source A
How many periods of time are shown on the timeline?
Which is the earliest period of time shown?
Which is the most recent period of time shown?
When did ancient times begin and end?
For how many years did ancient times last?
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a
b
c
Source B
What is the earliest date shown on the timeline?
What is the most recent date shown on the timeline?
In which year did the following events take place:
• the destruction of Troy
• the founding of Rome
• the building of Hadrian’s Wall
• the first Olympic Games
• the death of Cleopatra?
Name the event that took place in the following years:
• 850BC • 529BC • 1925BC • 410AD • 2500BC.
Which of these events came first:
• the collapse of the Akkadian Empire or the
disappearance of the Minoan civilisation
• the crossing of the Alps by Hannibal or the unification
of Egypt by Menes
• the Battle of Actium or the Persian invasion of Greece
• the destruction of Babylon by the Assyrians or Etruscan
settlement in Italy
• the fall of the Roman Empire or the birth of Christ?
Calculate how long each of the following lasted:
• the Peloponnesian War
• the Assyrian Empire
• the Mycenaean civilisation
• the occupation of Egypt by the Hyksos
• the Roman Empire.
Find evidence in the timeline to support the following
statements.
• The Assyrians were a war-like people.
• The Sumerians were the first urban civilisation.
• The Romans and Carthaginians were enemies.
• The Egyptians were early masters of stone technology.
• The Greeks experienced a period of conflict during the
5th century BC.
d
e
f
g
Abridged from Knossos—A Complete Guide to the Palace of
Minos, Athens, 1982, pp20–1
Figure of a goddess from Knossos
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Source C
Put the following events in their correct order.
• Evans begins excavations at Knossos.
• Evans dies at Youlbury, England.
• The Palace of Minos at Knossos is published.
• Evans is born.
• Evans purchases the site of Knossos.
• World War I interrupts excavations at Knossos.
• The Throne of Minos is discovered.
• Excavation of the West Wing of The Palace of Knossos
is completed.
• Evans visits Crete for the first time.
• Excavation of most of The Palace of Knossos is
completed.
Construct a timeline
5
Use Source C to construct a timeline summarising the life
of Arthur Evans. You should have twenty-one events.
Extension work
6
Construct one of the following timelines:
• a timeline of your life
• a timeline of the life of an important historical figure.
Ancient History Skills: Preliminary Course TRB © Nelson ITP 1997. May be photocopied within the purchasing institution for individual student use.
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